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The Lebanese State Security arrested the Syrian refugee Bashar Abdel Saoud on 30 August 2022. Abdel Saoud was tortured to death by a number of officers and soldiers. The victim’s photo, which shows clear signs of torture on his body, was leaked and spread over social media platforms. While several press reports confirmed that Bashar […]

The human rights movement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has paid a heavy price for the unlimited and unconditional support provided by the United Kingdom and United States to repressive governments across the region. The recent visit of US President Joe Biden has reinforced the practice of international relations that prioritises […]

Following the sentencing of Saudi women's rights activist and academic Salma al-Shehab to 34 years in prison as a result of her activity on Twitter, MENA Rights Group joins 34 other organisations calling for sustained international pressure on Saudi Arabia to immediately and unconditionally release al-Shehab.

The undersigned civil society organizations working in Arabic-speaking countries demand the immediate release of Meta’s India human rights impact assessment (HRIA) and BSR’s independent review of Meta’s content moderation in Palestine. Meta contracted with BSR, a third-party assessor, “to conduct a thorough examination to determine whether Facebook’s content moderation in Arabic and Hebrew, including its […]

MENA Rights Group joins more than 150 civil society organisations calling on the international community to unequivocally condemn Israel’s targeting of Palestinian civil society and take effective measures to end all other actions that deny Palestinians their inalienable human rights.

Days after Israeli forces raided the offices of seven Palestinian civil society organisations, which it had previously labeled as 'terrorist organisations,' and issued closure orders against them, MENA Rights Group joins a coalition of 11 NGOs calling on the Biden administration to take immediate steps to support the Palestinian civil society organizations by meeting with representatives of the groups, openly rejecting the Israeli designations, demanding that Israel reverse its designations, and suspending military assistance to Israel so long as its systematic abuses of Palestinians, including this latest attack, continue.

Despite the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) ratification of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in 2012, the practice of torture remains widespread in the UAE. On July 13 and 14, 2022, the UN Committee against Torture examined the UAE’s implementation of the provisions of the UNCAT […]

The Honorable Antony J. Blinken Secretary of State 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520 Mr. Jake Sullivan Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. Secretary and Mr. Sullivan,  We, the undersigned organizations, urge the administration not to provide the $300 million […]

A coalition of human rights NGOs calls on the Moroccan authorities to cancel the extradition proceedings against Yidiresi Aishan and release him from his year-long detention.

Egyptian authorities should ease their grip on civic space and uphold the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly to enable a successful climate summit, known as the COP27, in Egypt, 36 organisations said today.  COP27 brings together State parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as thousands of […]

On the anniversary of the verdicts in the mass trial of prominent human rights defenders, lawyers, judges, academics and students known as the UAE94, we the undersigned call on allies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to press the Emirati authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those convicted following a trial that lacked the most basic international standards necessary for a fair trial and due process. Many of those who were sentenced to ten years in prison are due for release this year, yet are being held past the end of their sentences.